Saving the Savior
by giftofamber
Summary: Regina finds a way to bring Emma back through the magic portal, but Emma is seriously injured and circumstances require Regina to take care of her. #SwanQueen
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Prompt by pamrenea: Regina keeps her promise to Henry. Emma and snow are returned to SB. But emma has been gravely wounded. Regina realizes her feelings as tends to Emma much to Charmings dismay.

* * *

Regina was absolutely positive the sheer joy she felt at Emma and Mary Margaret coming back through the portal-a rabbit hole of all things-was completely related to making Henry happy and showing him that she could change. There was no way she was happy to see them for any other reason. Regina glanced down at the shirt she was wearing, realizing it was the one that Emma had borrowed without permission a while back, and turned a little pale. Maybe her subconscious was trying to tell her something, but it couldn't be. The idea was just too preposterous. Her train of thought was interrupted at the sound of Henry's scream; that was when she noticed that Emma was covered in blood.

"Emma!" Henry cried, his screams giving way to coherent thought. "Mom, you have to get Dr. Whale. Go, now. Mom, we have to help Emma. I learned first aid at school. Go!"

Regina picked up the phone to call for an ambulance, wishing that the only doctor in all of Storybrooke didn't hate her guts. Surely, he would put his personal feelings for her aside and help Emma; there was some oath doctors took, right? To help everyone, no matter how undeserving? She spoke into the phone, "Hi, yes, I need an ambulance. Emma, oh god, there is so much blood. Yes, I think she's breathing. Yes, my son is trying to stop the bleeding. No, I don't know what happened. Just get here!"

"Emma, you're going to be ok. You're the Savior. Good always wins," Henry insisted, sounding surer of himself than he felt as he applied the pressure to Emma's wounds.

Regina had hung up the phone and found herself clutching Emma's right hand on instinct. She tried to look only at Emma's face, "Emma, what happened?"

"Ogres," Emma responded weakly. The ogres had attacked while she had been too busy trying to fend off Regina's mother to realize all the noise they had been making. Cora seemed to hate her and Mary Margaret…Snow…even more than Regina did, which Emma had never thought possible.

Unwilling to admit how terrified she was at Emma's condition, Regina bristled at the sheriff's answer, "After all that I went through to bring you back through the portal? Ms. Swan, part of being a mother means not putting yourself in mortal danger at the drop of a hat, do you hear me?"

"Mary…Margaret," Emma tried to pick her head up to see what had become of her friend and 'mother'. She needed to know if Snow had made it through the portal with her.

Regina finally remembered that Emma was not the only one who had come through the portal. She looked around to discover Mary Margaret unconscious on the floor with what appeared to be only minor wounds. Her joy at seeing her former nemesis injured was short-lived as she realized that if anything happened to either Emma or Mary Margaret, Henry would never forgive her. She looked back at Emma, "Don't you dare try to get up. Mary Margaret will be fine. You were trying to protect her, weren't you?"

"Cora," Emma managed to say as she lost consciousness from blood loss. She let the darkness overwhelm her, exhausted from the pain, knowing that her loved ones were safe.

Regina began to tremble, her voice growing more anxious by the second, "Emma, Emma, wake up! You have to wake up."

"Mom, who is Cora?" Henry asked as the ambulance arrived, and the EMTs pushed him out of the way to put Emma and Mary Margaret on stretchers.

"My mother," Regina answered. How did Emma know about her mother? Did Mary Margaret tell her or…had Cora managed to find her way out of Wonderland into the Enchanted Forest? With her mother's knowledge of magic, she surmised it was only a matter of time before she arrived in Storybrooke. She would have to prepare, but first, she needed Emma alive and ready to help her.

"Mom, they want to know if we want to ride in the ambulance," Henry said. He could tell Regina was distracted. She had never told him anything about her mother, and Henry had always assumed that the Evil Queen didn't have one.

Regina looked at him, still dazed, "No, we'll follow in my car. C'mon, let's get going."

Mary Margaret was sent home from the hospital with David relatively quickly, having only sustained minor injuries. She had wanted to stay for Emma's sake, but David convinced her it wouldn't help her own recovery if she was constantly worrying about her daughter and that Regina (or more likely Henry) would let them know of any changes to Emma's condition.

In contrast, Regina had spent days at Emma's hospital bedside-for Henry's sake (at least that's what she kept telling herself). Henry had refused to leave Emma while she was in the hospital, and Regina wasn't leaving Henry alone if there was the slightest chance her mother would find a way to follow Emma and Snow to Storybrooke. Even though her magic wasn't working the way it normally did, she knew that Henry stood a better chance with her there to protect him than he did on his own. Not that Cora knew about Henry, but she couldn't take any chances with Snow's inability to keep secrets.

While Emma recovered, Regina and Henry took turns telling Emma tales of what she had missed while she was off cavorting with ogres. Henry spoke excitedly of learning to ride horses and the time he had spent with David. Regina was much less forthcoming and had to be urged on by her…their son repeatedly. She admitted that she had started therapy with 'that blasted cricket' at Henry's urging. What she didn't tell Emma was that the tipping point was looking into Henry's eyes and realizing she was beginning to turn into her mother, something she'd fought against all her life. She told Emma that she was no longer working as mayor of the town and that David had picked up the job of Sheriff while she was gone.

Every so often, Henry would ask about Cora, but Regina remained tight-lipped about her mother, saying that they would all talk about it when Emma was awake and stable. In fact, Regina had just about run out of excuses by the time Dr. Whale said that Emma was safe to be released from the hospital.

"Here are Ms. Swan's release papers. All you need to do is sign here, and I'll go over her aftercare needs with you before you take her home," Dr. Whale held up a stack of papers and a pen.

Henry looked up, "Wait, mom, you're taking Emma home?"

Regina was startled, "Henry, I'm afraid I'm just as confused as you are. I thought her parents would have to sign her out."

"Funny story that. Legally speaking, Ms. Swan has no parents as she grew up a ward of the state. Ms. Blanchard and Mr. Nolan never filed any paperwork with the state of Maine to change that. Our hospital policy states that since you called it in and Ms. Swan has no other family according to the state of Maine that is of legal age, you are technically her emergency contact," Dr. Whale explained with an air of condescension.

"Oh," Regina said in wonder. She wasn't quite sure what to make of this news.

"Emma's coming home with me to Mary Margaret and David's apartment," Henry explained to Dr. Whale with all the authority he could muster having lived with Regina for nearly eleven years.

"Henry, we discussed you coming home with me, now that Emma and Mary Margaret are back," Regina said softly. She knew it had to be his choice to come home with her, but she wasn't sure she could handle another rejection.

Henry contemplated his answer carefully, "I guess you did keep up your end of the deal. But I can't leave Emma like this. She needs me."

"Then, it's settled, you and Emma will both come home with me," Regina asserted. If bringing Emma into her home was what it took to get Henry back, she was willing to meet him halfway.

"Woah, don't I get a say in this?" Emma said weakly.

Regina responded by glaring back at her, "Not when Henry's safety is on the line."

"Relax, I'm kidding. I would love to stay with you and Henry," Emma forced a smile. "My parents have their own issues to work out."

Henry stared at Emma, "Are you sure?"

"Kid, I saw what's out there, and your mom is right. She and I have the best chance of keeping you safe if we work together," Emma answered. "So about those papers?"

"Yes, of course," Regina stammered. She signed on the dotted line and tried to digest the massive list of instructions regarding Emma's outpatient treatment, grateful when Dr. Whale handed her a written copy that she could peruse later when she could better concentrate.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma was really going to be staying at the mansion with her and Henry. Regina was still trying to wrap her brain around the normally ridiculous concept. She was also trying to understand why she felt nervous and giddy for the first time since the curse broke. Was it purely because Henry was finally going to be back where he belonged, even temporarily, or was there something more? The mere idea was preposterous….right? There was so much she needed to think about—where Emma was going to sleep, what she was going to make for their first dinner together, where the baby monitor was, how she was going to make sure her family stayed safe….did she just include Emma in the word 'family'? Of course not, she was just imagining things from the lack of sleep she'd been getting lately.

xx

Emma had lasted precisely 24 hours in the mansion before deciding she was tired of being a patient. She wanted to get up and do things for herself, regardless of whether her body was ready to cooperate, and she was driving Regina positively batty with her demands and need for independence.

"Regina, stop treating me like an invalid!" Emma bellowed, desperately trying to force her legs to hold her weight and failing miserably. She was far too proud to admit it, but she was thankful that Regina was there physically supporting her because the last thing she wanted would be for Henry to be the one to find her lying on the floor helpless. She needed to be strong for both of them if they were going to survive the upcoming battle.

Regina, having had enough of Emma's self-pitying, let the blonde fall back hard onto the bed. She felt instantly remorseful hearing Emma's cry of pain, but she wasn't about to let that stop her from getting her point across. She was thankful the baby monitor had alerted her to Emma's foolishness before too much damage was caused. She berated, "Ms. Swan, we've been over this a thousand times. You're supposed to be staying in bed and letting me take care of you. If you try to rush your recovery, you will be completely useless to me, even more than you usually are, when my mother arrives."

Emma pouted, but allowed Regina to put her back under the covers, "I'm not useless."

"You have no idea what my mother is capable of, what she has done. When she finds out about Henry, it's going to take far more than a little bravado to keep him safe," Regina warned.

"Um, Regina, she kinda knows about Henry already," Emma braced herself for Regina's wrath. In hindsight, telling Cora she shared Henry with Regina hadn't exactly been one of her brightest moments, but in her defense, Cora had seemed nice, and Regina had never talked about her mother, so she really had no way of knowing until it was too late.

Regina's eyes narrowed, "What?"

"She heard me talking to Mary Margaret and asked who Henry was. She's your mother. I thought she had a right to know," Emma finished lamely. "That was before she impersonated Lancelot and tried to kill us."

"It's moments like these I remember who your parents are. Did you not think there was a reason I never told her about my son?" Regina began wringing her hands.

"She's your mother; she loves you, right? She'd never hurt someone you care about," Emma reasoned.

"I thought you of all people would realize that life isn't all roses, sunshine and rainbows," Regina took a deep breath. She sat next to Emma on the bed, looking down at the floor, unable to say what she was about to say and look in Emma's eyes at the same time. She continued, her voice breaking, "My mother loved me so much she tore the heart out of my fiancé, killing him right before my eyes because she thought love was weakness and she didn't want her daughter to be weak."

Emma paled. She'd had some horrible experiences with some of her foster families, but she'd always rationalized that it was because they weren't her real parents. They hadn't given birth to her or adopted her; she was merely a monthly check to them. She cringed at the thought of someone's actual parents behaving like that. Her memory flashed back to the last encounter she had had with Cora, and she realized the full impact of what Cora had tried to do, "So that's what she was trying to do."

Regina gave her a questioning glance, "What do you mean?"

"She put her hand to my chest, and I could feel a pulling sensation, but something inside me stopped her. I think it was my magic. She tried to take my heart, and she couldn't," Emma explained, a smile finally crossing her face.

For some inexplicable reason, color drained from Regina's normally olive skin. Why did the thought of Emma's death bother her so much? Sure, Henry would be upset, but her reaction was visceral. She was sure her own heart was being pulled from her chest and being stomped on. Suddenly, the realization dawned on her, and she was even more terrified. She had feelings for the Savior, more than just as Henry's birth mother, and that gave her an additional weak spot. She repeated the obvious, "She tried to take your heart."

"But she couldn't! I stopped her. I can protect you and Henry," Emma grinned, a little bit of her spunk returning.

"Just try to curb your Princess Charming tendencies for a while. Let me protect you for a change," Regina held Emma's hand for a moment before shutting off the light, checking on a sleeping Henry, and returning to her own room. She had a lot of thinking to do, but it could wait until the morning when she was a little less emotional. For now, she just wanted to revel in the fact that after all she had been through, she had someone who wanted to be her very own Princess Charming.


	3. Chapter 3

"Breakfast in bed?" Emma wasn't sure whether to smile or be upset. She had to admit that the sight of Regina Mills serving her in an apron was a delicious one, but it was also a reminder of how much of an invalid she was at the moment.

Regina cleverly avoided the question, "Henry wanted to say goodbye before he left for school, but I wouldn't let him wake you up. I told him you'll spend lots of time with him later, helping him with his homework."

"I'm not exactly a helping with homework kinda girl. I barely survived doing my own," Emma commented, a look of apprehension crossing her face.

"There's a surprise," Regina grinned while laying the tray across Emma's lap. "The daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming struggling through school? Never would've guessed."

"Hey, now, there's no need for that," Emma was calmed from the friendly banter and began to eat. She hadn't realized how much she had missed real food. "At least I earned my GED on my own merits and not from a curse, which is more than anyone else in this town can say."

"Which is precisely why you're the perfect person to instill in my…our son the need for a solid education," Regina concluded her argument with a twinkle in her eye. Her reasoning was about more than just Henry focusing on his studies; she knew that her son wouldn't tolerate Emma feeling sorry for herself any more than she did.

"But Regina…"

Regina offered, "I may even be persuaded to make you my famous apple cobbler."

"Apple cobbler?"

"Emma Swan, if I wanted to poison you, you'd be dead already, and I certainly wouldn't do anything in front of Henry," Regina pouted. Why did no one believe she was trying to be a better person?

"Relax, I know that. For what it's worth, if I were in your shoes, I probably would have done the same thing," Emma supplied a peace offering.

"Really?"

"Well, I do have a bit of a temper, in case you didn't notice. The day Henry found me I'd just slammed some jerk's head off a steering wheel—with good reason of course," Emma continued.

Thinking of all their physical tussles, Regina responded, "I noticed. You are quite impulsive."

Looking down at the nearly empty plate in front of her, Emma changed the subject, "Regina, can I ask…why are you helping me?"

A blush rose to Regina's cheeks. She honestly wasn't sure she knew the reason herself. In front of her was the woman who had broken her curse, the curse for which she had given up everything and struggled so hard to protect, and yet, she couldn't bring herself to hate Emma in the same way she hated Snow White. After 28 years in Storybrooke, she'd found herself bored with the monotony, and Emma just made life interesting again. When Emma helped her, it wasn't because her curse forced the blonde, it was because she wanted to do it. What Emma did was real. Still, she wasn't about to give Emma that much of an edge over her, so her response was only a half-truth, "Because it's what Henry would want."

"Is that the only reason?" Emma pressed.

Regina picked up Emma's empty tray, her manner now completely businesslike and professional, "What other reason could there be? Ms. Swan, I left a book on your nightstand in case you get bored while I'm getting some housework done. If you need something else, just speak up, and I'll hear you on the monitor. Oh, and don't even think about getting up by yourself—Henry wouldn't like it."

"Aye, aye, your majesty," Emma's penchant for sarcasm got the better of her. She followed with a more serious tone, "And thank you."

"Don't mention it," Regina said as she turned and left the room, subconsciously sashaying her hips on the way. For the first time since she'd resigned her position as mayor, she felt like she had a purpose.

As she watched the brunette leave the room, Emma sighed in both arousal and frustration. The knee length skirt Regina wore accentuated her form, and the apparent lack of stockings on olive skin only added to the ideas materializing in Emma's brain. Not that she had any hope of her feelings being reciprocated, nor did she understand why she had feelings for such a complicated woman who had done so much to her family. Still, the heart wanted what the heart wanted. Frustrated at the continuous formality between them, Emma muttered out loud to the ceiling, almost expecting it to respond, "My name is Emma."

A smile formed across Regina's face, as she heard Emma's voice over the monitor. Just knowing the other woman was upstairs gave her stomach butterflies. Putting the dishes in the dishwasher, Regina Mills, the former mayor of Storybrooke, Evil Queen extraordinaire, started to whistle a tune. Birds cautiously flocked to her kitchen window, curious at the change, yet unsure whether they would be welcomed. When they weren't shooed away, they added their voices to hers in song.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Storybrooke harbor, an unmarked ship docked. The crew appeared to be a band of miscreant pirates, but they lacked a discernible leader—at least none that the local dockhands recognized. Had they paid closer attention, the local dockhands would have noticed the crew showing deference to a woman in a hooded cloak—but then, a woman leading a band of pirates was so preposterous that they probably didn't give it a second thought. Hence, the cloaked woman disembarked from the ship with relatively little fanfare.

When she could no longer see the docks behind her, she finally pulled down her hood. Cora Mills surveyed the view before her. The town looked small, like it catered to peasants rather than to royalty. Various oddities such as how close the buildings were together and the apparent lack of outhouses did nothing to faze her. She'd expected that the curse would have involved some changes to the landscape, although she was a bit disappointed that there was no castle where she could easily find her daughter. She muttered to herself, "So this is the town my daughter gave up everything to create."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Warning: this chapter contains minor het (Rumple/Cora). No kissing or anything, but it references a prior relationship. I hope you bear with me because it is kind of relevant to the plot. Also, thank you for your reviews and your patience with updates.

* * *

Not quite sure where to start, Cora sensed the pull of familiar magic drawing her toward a shop that appeared to be full of ancient relics. It wasn't her daughter's magic, but it was magic that she recognized. If she had still had her heart, she would have felt a touch of joy knowing she was about to see the only man who had ever matched her yearning for power. She was one of the few who had seen through his lizard skin and cowardice to the charm and lust beneath. As she entered the pawn shop, she heard a strange musical sound, a ringing…almost like a cowbell, but higher pitched. She guessed that it was meant to announce the arrival of visitors. Rumplestiltskin had always hated surprises.

"Welcome, dearie. See something you like?" Rumplestiltskin quipped. Decades had passed since he had last laid eyes on the woman before him as she had been banished to Wonderland—with his help—by her own daughter. Much to his chagrin, her beauty had not faded with age.

"I always do. My dear Rumple, the years have been good to you," Cora let her eyes wander suggestively. She wasn't above using her wiles to get what she wanted, and whether she liked it or not, she was going to need the Dark One's help to carry out her plan.

Rumplestiltskin had been around far too long to be easily manipulated, even by a former paramour such as the Queen of Hearts. He knew that she never gave a compliment without expecting something in return, so he cut to the chase, "What do you want, Cora?"

"Well, I should think that obvious. I want my daughter. She and I have some unfinished business," Cora looked the pawn broker directly in the eyes. "I hear she has given me a grandson."

The pawn broker responded with a glint in his eye, "Dearie, you know that's impossible. Regina is incapable of having children. I never break my deals."

"Ever the wordsmith. You may not break your deals directly, but you thrive on loopholes. Tell me about this boy she shares with a most irritating blonde woman," Cora insisted, her tone commanding obeisance. Truth be told, she wasn't displeased that a loophole had been discovered. King Leopold had been the one to insist on it being part of the marriage contract so that his precious Snow wouldn't have any competition for the throne. Cora had merely been the one to implement it, by making the deal with the Dark One.

Rumplestiltskin said smoothly, "I take it you've met the Savior then. That irritating blonde woman is the one who broke your daughter's curse, allowing the portal to open between the worlds."

"I'll be sure to thank her next time I see her," Cora grew impatient. "Tell me about the boy."

Rumplestiltskin sighed to himself. What could it hurt? She'd find out sooner or later, and honestly, he had no stake in this whatsoever. Well, except that he might get her out of his hair faster. He answered truthfully, "The boy's name is Henry. The Savior gave him to your daughter to raise, but it seems that she's since decided to take him back."

"Regina just went along with that? That doesn't sound like my daughter," Cora snorted. "She is far too stubborn and possessive to just give up."

"And that, dearie, is where it gets complicated. Those two seem to enjoy a good brawl now and again, all quite uncivilized if you ask me," Rumplestiltskin sniffed, straightening his purple tie.

"A Queen is always civilized; it's her subjects who need to learn proper respect and decorum," Cora drew her nose up at the insinuation that she had raised her daughter to be no better than an unruly peasant.

Rumplestiltskin laughed, "Dearie, you haven't heard then. Regina gave up that title as part of the curse. By her own choosing, she is a mere Mayor now; in terms of the Enchanted Forest, a Mayor is the equivalent of a lord of a fiefdom. She does not share the same lust for power as you and I."

"It would seem she hasn't fared as well as I'd hoped without her dear mother," Cora responded thoughtfully. "Where can I find her?"

With the smile fading from his lips, he answered, "Big white mansion in the center of town. You can't miss it. I daresay she won't be as happy to receive you as I have been, seeing as how she thinks you dead. How is Hook, if I may ask?"

"Mr. Jones was unable to accompany me on my journey; something about battling a crocodile at the bottom of the ocean. He lent me use of his ship in the meantime," Cora replied tactfully, not mentioning that the man was in fact unsuccessfully battling the reptile from inside its stomach. "Let me worry about how to best approach my daughter. I'll think of something."

"You always do, dearie. You always do."

* * *

Emma had counted every crack in the ceiling twice, trying to keep herself awake for Regina's inevitable return. She'd tried to think of a plan on her own to deal with the possibility that Cora had found a portal to their world, but well, thinking ahead wasn't her strong suit; she tended to succeed more often making purely impulsive decisions. Speaking of impulsive decisions, agreeing to move into the mayoral mansion while she was recovering hadn't turned out nearly as badly as she had feared. For one, she got to sleep in a comfortable bed, eat real home-cooked meals, see her son without needing to sneak around, and flirt with the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, who also happened to be the mother of her son—and ironically, the Evil Queen who had cursed an entire town on a whim. What would her life have been like if she had been able to grow up living with her parents in a freaking castle? She wouldn't have been a juvenile delinquent, involved with a man two times her age just because he was the first person to genuinely appear to care about her, or a pregnant teenager who felt she had to give her child up for adoption so that he could have had a better life.

She would have been a princess, loved and spoiled by doting parents, and probably married off to a handsome prince—ok, that part made her a bit ill—with maids to do all her housework for her and a chef to cook her meals and…she wouldn't have had Henry. Even though he often resembled an annoying brat, she wouldn't have changed one thing about her life because every experience she'd had, every choice she had made, had led to the little boy who had stolen her heart, even if she did share him with Regina. Honestly, sharing custody with Regina wasn't so bad. It was certainly better sharing Henry with her than with his biological father/sperm donor any day of the week. Regina definitely looked better in a skirt; that was for sure.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you for the reviews and follows. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

A gentle hand prodding Emma's shoulder jolted her awake. She should have known that being kissed and touched intimately by a flawless, quick-witted woman wearing naught but an apron would be a dream. She shut her eyes, trying to recapture the sensual vision before the cruelty of the real world set in. When she was once again overwhelmed by brown eyes and ruby red lips, she murmured happily, "Regina."

"Emma, it's me, your mother. What has she done to you?" Mary Margaret took in the sight before her and assumed the worst. Had Regina tried to poison her daughter while she was already weak from the fight with Cora? Would she hurt Emma with Henry there? Emma somehow seemed thinner and frailer than she had in the hospital.

"Made her eat an enchanted apple and left her for dead, but not before having my evil way with her," Regina bristled at the unwarranted accusations leveled by the brainless woman. With Mary Margaret as a mother, it was truly a miracle that Emma had any brain cells at all.

With a slight blush tinting her cheeks, Emma couldn't suppress a giggle, "Ok, I'm sorry, that was funny. Mary Margaret, what are you doing here? Is school out already? Is Henry home?"

"I decided to come during my lunch hour as soon as Henry told me you'd been released from the hospital. Emma, why didn't you tell me yourself? You would've been welcome to stay with me and your father," Mary Margaret admonished. The thought that her daughter had chosen to spend one minute in the presence of her nemesis instead of home with her family was disheartening.

"Um, because of this. Mary Margaret, I'm not five years old anymore. I'm an adult who is fully capable of making my own decisions," Emma said, ignoring the unladylike snort coming from the brunette standing in the doorway watching the loving reunion. "Besides, you and David had only just found each other, and I would've been a third wheel."

Regina interrupted, "There you go. As you can see, Emma is not here against her will. Now, visiting hours are over. She needs her rest, and Dr. Whale's instructions explicitly state no stressful situations until she is fully recovered."

Emma tried to soften the blow, "It's ok, really; she's not going to kill me with Henry right here. Mary Margaret, how about you and David stop by later for dinner or something? You did say this was your lunch break; I'm sure you have to get back anyhow."

"And just who is going to cook this dinner you're proposing?" Regina inquired sharply. "Ms. Swan, surely you have enough manners to ask your host before inviting guests."

"Regina…" Emma flashed her best puppy dog eyes, while doing her best to look pitiful lying in bed.

"Alright, fine. They can come over *if* they follow the rules regarding your recovery," Regina caved. "At least now I know where Henry gets it from. Ms. Blanchard, we will expect you at 6 pm sharp."

Ignoring the steely glare coming from Regina's eyes, Mary Margaret addressed Emma directly, "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Absolutely. Now, go, get back to work and stop worrying about me," Emma reiterated. "Really, I have the most feared woman in all of Storybrooke watching out for me; no one would dare cross her."

Mary Margaret nodded, "Alright, we'll discuss this more at dinner when we have a bit more time. Remember, we love you."

"I remember," Emma forced a smile. She wondered if she would ever learn to deal with doting parents after being on her own for so long.

Mary Margaret pointedly ignored Regina as she left the room, and Regina snubbed her as well, choosing to stay standing where she was in the doorway instead of walking the schoolteacher to the door. When the awkward moment of icy stares was finally over and Regina and Emma were once again alone in the room, Regina finally spoke, "I explicitly told her she was not to wake you up."

"Yeah, well…" Emma sighed, "Following orders doesn't exactly run in the family."

"I suppose since you're up, you're probably hungry," Regina offered, suddenly feeling tense and wanting to do something with her hands.

"Regina, come sit with me," Emma asked, not wanting to be left alone just yet. The memory of her dream encouraged her to speak her mind. Dreams like that didn't come out of nowhere.

Regina was perplexed, "What?"

"Come sit with me, please," Emma patted the open spot on the bed next to her in invitation.

Not entirely sure why she assented to Emma's request, Regina sat down on the bed being careful not to hurt the recovering woman in the process. She asked quietly, "Did you mean what you said?"

"What?" Emma started searching her brain for what she could possibly have said that had struck a chord in the raven beauty sitting next to her. Who was she kidding? Her brain couldn't function next to such perfection.

Regina continued, "That I'm the most feared woman in Storybrooke."

"It was a compliment," Emma clarified. She caught herself before she said how attracted she was to strong, assertive women, realizing that making a statement like that right now would probably get her slapped.

Regina stated bluntly, "You're not afraid of me."

"No, I'm not," Emma agreed.

Regina asked the one question that had been bugging her since Emma had first strolled into town, "Why?"

"Well, as you are fond of telling me, I'm not that bright," Emma joked, hoping her tone would lighten the mood.

"True…" Regina deadpanned.

"You didn't have to agree with me," Emma rolled her eyes, smirking.

"Oh, but I did," Regina smiled back.

"Regina, I'm not afraid of you because I know you. In here," Emma motioned to her heart. "I can't explain it, but I do."

Regina just stared at her in silence, a tear threatening to escape from her treacherous eyes.

Emma continued, "Besides, who else going to save you from angry mobs, dragons, wraiths, fires and all the other trouble you get yourself into? You need me."

Regina found the blonde's presumption insufferable. Just because Emma happened to be in the right place at the right time every so often, she thought she was all that. She was Regina Mills for crying out loud, the woman who had cursed an entire land for 28 years. She could defend herself. She said in her best haughty tone, "In case you didn't notice, I managed to survive just fine on my own for quite a while before you came along. I am not weak."

"Needing people isn't weakness, Regina. It's called being human," Emma knew where the anger was coming from and chose to ignore it. They had had the 'love is weakness' discussion once already, but as Emma well knew, it would take multiple times before her words would be absorbed.

"Yes, well, I should really go get us some lunch," Regina said with a clear undertone that she was done with the heart to hearts at the moment.

"Just please stay with me until I fall asleep? We don't have to talk," Emma begged.

Regina relented quicker than she cared to admit. Perhaps it was the similarity to her son's eyes or that she'd simply gone soft or…maybe Emma was right. Maybe Regina had developed a certain affection for the one woman in the world who inexplicably cared if she lived or died. Whatever the reason, Regina sat, gently rubbing circles on the palm of the other woman's hand until her breathing indicated that she had fallen asleep. Reacting on impulse, she moved some wayward curls off of Emma's face and kissed her softly on the forehead before leaving the room. She had a lot of preparations to complete to make the upcoming family dinner as stress-free as possible for her princess.


End file.
